We Cannot Turn Our Faces or Our Backs


Over 11 million people are displaced right now because of the conflict in Syria.

11 million.

 It’s hard for me to fathom the enormity of that number. For perspective, that is more than the population of Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Montana, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine combined.

11 million people who do not currently have what the UN have declared as basic human rights.

Lives are literally at stake in places torn apart by war and chaos.

We cannot turn our faces or our backs.

Talking about the situation can be difficult because it makes us acknowledge that inequality and injustice actually exist. This is what author and advocate for equality Gary Howard refers to as the Luxury of Ignorance (Howard, 2006). For so long, it has been easier for me to glide right on by these issues because, as soon as I admit injustice exists, I am forced to then either become part of the problem or part of the solution. Becoming part of the solution can feel daunting and impossible, but being part of the problem doesn’t help either, causing this tug-of-war.

'You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.' William Wilberforce

We have to examine our own biases toward injustice through self-reflection. Self-reflection isn't easy. It's messy and painful. It has forced me to come to terms with some of my biases and assumptions that I have held. I have had to take a look at the stereotypes I have held.

‘It’s not our problem,’ people cry.

Oh, but it is.
           
People are grouped and categorized; they are seen as the "Other." Humans are reduced to one-dimensional stereotypes instead of being seen as the diverse, beautiful enigmas that they are with their own cultures, stories, experiences, hopes, and dreams.

When I first started my student teaching, a teacher gave me a valuable piece of advice. “The most important thing,” he said, “is to always preserve people’s dignity.” Supporting refugees is not about being saviors. This is not about swooping in and “saving those poor people.” When speaking out about injustice, we have to let them tell their stories. These people are strong. They are resilient. I cannot pretend to know what they have gone through or what they are feeling.

Their stories are incredible, unique, and belong to them alone.

As Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie puts it, "Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity" (Nygozi Adichie, 2009).

Their stories matter.

We are so often caught in this place between hopelessness and hopefulness. However, we cannot sit in complacency as we wait for someone else to figure out the solutions. We must not only acknowledge injustice, but fight it.

When goodness intersects with evil, it gives it another name.

“Now, now, is the time for the Church to be the Church. In the past, the Church may have been defined by what the Church is against — but, in this defining moment in history, may the Church be clearly defined by what it is for — and the Church has always been for the stranger, the sojourner, and the welcoming arms of the Savior. How can we not move heaven and earth to let the broken in - when heaven moved and came to earth to let us in"? - Ann Voskamp



How to Help/For More Information:

When donating to any charity, it is critical to research the organization to ensure that the money is actually going to the cause you’re donating to. Here are some places that I have researched so far, but there are definitely other great organizations out there!




With a quick Google search, you can also find out how to help refugees who are already in your area.

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